Europe’s Leaders Make Their Point Without Saying a Word

BRUSSELS — How do you like your leaders? Dashing? Fired up? Sober and controlled? At
European Union
summit meetings, 28 leaders project competing versions of what it means to be in charge as the bloc falters. Some examples of the stagecraft that will be on display at the next summit talks, beginning Thursday:

Ms. Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, projects a managerial efficiency at summit meetings with a style that borders on flavorless. She enters briefings rapidly, steps purposefully onto a dais, and settles into a modern, high-backed office chair. Behind her is a giant map of Europe dotted with yellow stars representing the bloc’s 28 capital cities, and underscoring Germany’s decades-long mission to further integration. There is a hush as journalists parse the words of the leader of the group’s most powerful country. The atmosphere can occasionally turn reverent, as when
a journalist serenaded Ms. Merkel
for her 60th birthday. But her power at home is now being challenged over her policy on migration, potentially complicating her role as Europe’s de facto leader.

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Credit
Thierry Charlier/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Xavier Bettel improves Luxembourg’s sartorial stature.

Mr. Bettel has generated outsized publicity for himself and his tiny country by turning up in a variety of fashionable scarves. The habit has even prompted a parody Twitter account,
@Luxscarf
(description: keeping the prime ministerial neck warm in style). Mr. Bettel has done little to dampen the interest, good-naturedly posting pictures
of his neckwear. He rarely makes forceful comments at European Union summit meetings, but his eye for style, and the fact that he is openly gay and married to his partner, could help raise the profile of Luxembourg, long considered a stodgy tax haven.

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Credit
Olivier Hoslet/European Pressphoto Agency

Robert Fico won’t let the world overlook Slovakia.

Mr. Fico’s briefings include a backdrop with an image of his country that seems several sizes larger than its neighbors. During news conferences, he often responds in Slovak to questions posed in English — even though he speaks English well. Such gestures serve the nationalist streak he is known for, though it has lessened since his country took over the rotating presidency of the European Union council in July.

Lest you forget that France is a military power, Mr. Hollande is shadowed at briefings by a uniformed aide-de-camp who carries the codes for the country’s nuclear arsenal. To the left of the presidential podium is a plaque displaying an ax and shield —
le faisceau de licteur
— another reminder of the republic’s martial tradition and its current deployments. Mr. Hollande’s political security, however, appears less well-protected: He is heading into a presidential election badly weakened at home and at risk of being voted out of office next spring.

Mr. Tsipras is the only male leader at summit meetings without a necktie. The choice is widely seen as a way of maintaining his anti-establishment credentials with restive Greek voters. His communications are calculated, too. Although he is frequently in the spotlight, Mr. Tsipras is among those who give the fewest briefings. He prefers to make precooked statements in both Greek and English at the start and finish of meetings, then turn on his heels and head for the exit.

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Credit
John Thys/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Matteo Renzi emphatically delivers Italy’s message.

Mr. Renzi, who will arrive at this week’s summit meeting fresh off his
state dinner with President Obama, warms to his themes with expressive arm movements. To reinforce a point or hammer home a grievance, he may twist his torso into a baroque pose. The showmanship suddenly halts when he drops his eyes and shoulders to check his phone. Mr. Renzi is also famously active on social media. Many Italians have tired of his swagger amid doubt over his policies, but his reformist zeal has helped make him more successful than many of his predecessors at putting Italian perspectives on the European agenda.

Theresa May of Britain at a news conference after attending her first European Summit in Brussels as prime minister.Credit
Yoan Valat/European Pressphoto Agency

How will Theresa May begin to say goodbye to Europe?

While Union Jacks flanked
David Cameron
at briefings in Brussels, the European Union flag was barely visible — a sign of how reluctant British leaders have been to promote the group. Mr. Cameron’s unflashy successor, Theresa May, will make her summit debut on Thursday; Mr. Cameron stepped down after his country voted to leave the bloc in June. She is expected to say that the union can thrive without Britain, partly as a tactic to lay groundwork for a favorable departure package. Whether such an overture will include making the European Union flag more prominent remains to be seen.